Local chikungunya fever case found
The Centre for Health Protection’s Controller Dr Edwin Tsui (left), its Head of the Communicable Disease Branch Dr Albert Au (right) and a staff of the Food & Environmental Hygiene Department (centre) conduct on-site inspections of locations near the residence of the first locally acquired case of chikungunya fever.
The Department of Health’s Centre for Health Protection today recorded Hong Kong's first locally acquired chikungunya fever case, involving an 82-year-old female living in Fung Tak Estate in Wong Tai Sin.
The patient had developed a swollen and painful left ankle since October 18, then a fever and limbs joint pain on October 22. She sought medical attention from a private doctor that day and attended Kwong Wah Hospital’s accident and emergency department the following day. She was admitted for treatment in a mosquito-free environment. The patient is now in stable condition.
A preliminary investigation revealed that she visited Qingyuan in Guangdong in late August, but had no travel history during the incubation period, which is two to 12 days prior to onset. The case is classified as a local case.
The patient has four household contacts who are currently asymptomatic and under medical surveillance.
Given that the patient’s activity areas are primarily within the estate, the centre cannot rule out the possibility that unidentified infected patients in the area may have transmitted the virus to mosquitoes in the estate, leading to her infection.
The centre today conducted an inter-departmental meeting with various departments and relevant organisations, including the Food & Environmental Hygiene Department, Wong Tai Sin District Office and Housing Authority, to ensure that all units implement various preventive and control measures in a speedy and orderly manner.
The centre’s officers and District Services & Community Care Teams will contact about 8,000 households and carry out questionnaire surveys to understand and follow up on their health conditions.
Residents have been urged to seek medical advice or contact the centre immediately if they have presented with a fever, rash or joint pain since October 1.
The centre has also set up a health consultation booth at 2/F, Fung Tak Shopping Centre, where assessments will be provided to residents with relevant symptoms from today, as well as enquiry hotline 2125 2373.